David Miller looking forward to leading Kings XI Punjab

South African batsman David Miller has come out saying that he is relishing the challenge of captaining his franchise, the Kings XI Punjab in the upcoming edition of the IPL. Miller has been an integral member of the Punjab-based franchise, producing fantastic knocks. His heroics in the 2014 edition of the IPL saw the Kings reach the final of the IPL only to concede the title to the Kolkata Knight Riders.

David Miller said that he wasn’t under pressure despite the changes in the responsibility. He also added that he was eager to lead the new-look lineup apart from attesting that they very well could go on to win the competition.

“Responsibility changes a bit as captain, but I am really looking forward to it,” Miller said. “No pressure, to be honest. I see it as an opportunity.

We have changed the squad a little bit this year, a couple of new additions, but most of the squad stay the same. I really believe we can win the competition this year. The fact that we haven’t won it doesn’t add any more pressure. It’s a great opportunity for the guys to step up,” he added.

“There are guys in the team who play a lot of international cricket. I am looking forward to rubbing shoulders with them. This is my first time as captain, but I am really looking forward to the challenge and what lies ahead,” Miller said.

“I am looking forward to the first game, we will take it from there. See how it goes. There are going to be challenges, ups, and downs,” said Miller.

When asked what the core strengths of the side were, Miller said, “That is a difficult question because a lot of teams are really strong, but I believe we are a well-balanced side. We have some really world class bowlers, some really good youngsters, our batting line-up is looking really strong.

“We have to make sure that whatever we do we do it as best as we can. We are playing to win, we don’t want to disappoint, we want to play best we can, as long as we do that and we have our plans in place, we can come off as winners,” he said.

Finally, David Miller concluded by saying that he foreign players including himself would back themselves in Indian conditions.

Miller said, “As foreign players, we have been fortunate to play in the Indian conditions. I feel fairly confident in Indian conditions, in terms of what works and what doesn’t work. IPL is a huge platform for everyone.”

Kings XI Punjab coach Sanjay Bangar added that they had indeed learnt a lot from the previous season.

“We definitely learnt a lot from last season. We have made certain changes. We were found wanting in our spin department and we have beefed up that. We have got some good exciting spinners. KC Cariappa, Pradeep Sahu…they are very capable and young spinners. There lies the strength of KXIP. We want to encourage the youngsters and give them a platform. We aspire to do that this season as well,” Bangar said.